Zhongyong thinking and self-control linked to life satisfaction in Chinese students

A cross-sectional online survey of 1,372 Chinese university students identified cognition-based self-control as a prominent component in the estimated relationships among Zhongyong thinking, four self-control strategies and life satisfaction. The study, published in BMC Psychology on 11 September 2026, found that all study variables were positively correlated. A supplementary structural equation model also detected significant indirect associations between Zhongyong thinking and life satisfaction through situation, cognition and inhibition strategies, but not through attention strategy.

The research examined culturally salient forms of thinking that have received less attention in life-satisfaction research, which the authors note has primarily been developed from Western cultural perspectives. Zhongyong thinking was characterized as considering multiple perspectives, adopting a holistic view and pursuing harmony. Its three dimensions were assessed alongside four strategies for regulating behavior: situation, cognition, inhibition and attention.

Participants were 45.7% male and had a mean age of 21.42 years. Based on the reported proportion, this corresponds to approximately 627 male participants and 745 female participants. The investigators used network analysis to estimate dimension-level conditional associations among the three Zhongyong thinking dimensions, the four self-control strategies and life satisfaction. A supplementary structural equation model evaluated theoretically proposed indirect associations at the construct level.

Among the four self-control strategies, the cognition strategy had the highest strength centrality in the network and occupied a relatively prominent structural position. Strength centrality is a network measure, but the supplied findings do not establish that this strategy had the strongest direct conditional associations with every other variable. Within the study’s framework, cognition strategy involved reframing temptations or goal conflicts by approaching them from a different perspective.

When the researchers compared the four strategies, inhibition and cognition strategies showed the strongest conditional associations with life satisfaction. Attention strategy did not appear as a significant indirect pathway between Zhongyong thinking and life satisfaction in the supplementary structural equation model. Cognition strategy showed the largest specific indirect association in that model, indicating that it accounted for the strongest of the reported indirect associations through a particular self-control strategy.

The two analyses addressed related but distinct questions. The network analysis focused on dimension-level conditional relationships, while the structural equation model assessed broader, theoretically proposed indirect associations at the construct level. Both approaches pointed to cognition strategy as an important connecting component in the associations among Zhongyong thinking, self-regulation and life satisfaction among the students surveyed. The results do not show that adopting Zhongyong thinking or changing any self-control strategy would cause an increase in life satisfaction.

The design also limits the conclusions that can be drawn. Because the survey was cross-sectional, it cannot establish the temporal order of the measured associations or determine whether the observed relationships operate differently over time. The results were specific to the sampled Chinese university students, so their generalizability to other ages, populations or cultural settings remains uncertain. The network and structural equation results describe statistical relationships rather than the practical effectiveness of an intervention.

The authors present the findings as a basis for hypotheses about culturally sensitive intervention research rather than as evidence for an intervention already shown to work. They state that longitudinal, experimental and cross-cultural studies are needed to examine the directionality, practical effectiveness and generalizability of the associations. Within those limits, the study offers a detailed view of how distinct forms of self-control relate to Zhongyong thinking and life satisfaction in a Chinese student population.

Subject of Research: Network analysis of associations among Zhongyong thinking, self-control strategies and life satisfaction in Chinese university students

Article Title: The role of Zhongyong thinking and self-control strategies in life satisfaction: a network analysis approach

Article References: Zhao, B., Liu, C., Muhetaer, P., & Hu, P. (2026). The role of Zhongyong thinking and self-control strategies in life satisfaction: a network analysis approach. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05560-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05560-9

Keywords: Zhongyong thinking, life satisfaction, self-control, cognition strategy, network analysis, Chinese university students, well-being, cross-sectional survey, structural equation model, role, Zhongyong, thinking